Stuff I want you to know

“Best of Both Worlds” Whipped Cream

Alright you guys. You asked for it (okay, you didn’t) and I’m gonna give it to you. Stupid easy whipping cream that will make you weep tears of joy for having such a delicious LOW CARB AND KETO FRIENDLY treat so you can stick to your goals AND live your best life! That’s a lot to promise, right? Well, this is so worth it so I will promise all that.

Also, please note that I am not Martha Stewart (never been to jail) OR Joanna Gaines (God, I wish!) so this is not going to be a super classy recipe. I’m still figuring out all that, so this is the scrappy “Jamie tests things out in front of you” approach. We good? Yeah, we good.

Quick recipe info

Here’s the quick facts for people who don’t need my 2,700 word essay on why I do what I do with this recipe. But be warned that you should read everything so that you don’t accidentally make this a carb bomb…which is the opposite of what you want on a keto diet. Just sayin!

Measure out the Erythritol and almond extract and mix into the whipping cream until fully incorporated.

In a separate mixing bowl – put in the remains of the coconut milk – which is now just the cream that is left (you should have drained the watery substance already – if you’re confused by this, see below).

Mix the remaining coconut milk cream until most of the lumps are gone.

Combine the two bowls – the whipping cream and the coconut milk cream and Mix again until everything is incorporated and smooth.

Enjoy!

Nutrition (serving size: ½ cup – 65 g)

Calories: 264 | NET Carbs: 3.3g | Fat: 26.4g | Protein: 1.1g

Macro Ratios:

Carbs: 5.18% | Fat: 93.1% | Protein: 1.7%

The real down and dirty of this recipe

Okay – so this is where you start to see some method to my madness. As I’ve alluded to in my previous posts, I don’t just throw things together and hope for the best. Everything is measured and accounted for. And I’ve done my homework on whipping creams because (spoiler alert!) there are only certain kinds which actually have zero carbs. I do still maintain that this recipe is “Stupid easy” but really it’s only stupid easy if you 1. Get the right ingredients and 2. Learn from my lessons so you don’t repeat any of my mistakes. Kapeesh? Okay great. Let’s get into the details.

Things to know before you make this recipe (and even before you get your ingredients, really)

Heavy Whipping Cream is NOT “Whipped Cream” that you see in stores.

When people hear that I eat a ton of whipped cream on Keto they probably have an image in their mind of me digging into a huge blue tub of CoolWhip. Yeah, not the case at all. CoolWhip or products like that have a LOT of processed ingredients…including sugar. Lots of sugar. So no, that is not what I’m talking about. Heavy whipping cream, on the other hand, is the stuff that can be made into whipped cream – and depending on how you make it, it can either include sugar or not include it. What’s great about heavy whipping cream in general is that unlike other milk products – it is a lot less processed and does not contain “milk sugar” so it is very low carb.

Another thing to note about heavy whipping cream is that they’re not all created equal. It is definitely still possible to make a carb bomb (not awesome) out of this recipe if you get the wrong heavy whipping cream. The “Organic Valley” brand I have pictured above is the only version I can find with zero carbs.

BUT – keep in mind that there is a lot of debate around whether or not heavy whipping cream can ever actually be zero carb. I guess this is an area where there are “food label loopholes” such that if the carbs are lower than 1 gram per serving (which is 1 oz in this case), then they don’t have to put it on the food label. So even though Organic Valley says “0 g” for Carbs, there likely still are some carbs like 0.4g carbs…potentially. Which is not cool, but this recipe is also meant to be “low carb” not “no carb” so I’m going to keep the nutrition facts listed as that of “0g carbs” for this heavy whipping cream, but just know that there might be up to a gram of extra carbs in each serving.

See below for more sources on this information…because honestly this is the first I read about that, but also, I’m going to keep loving on my heavy whipping cream because it’s still one of the lowest carb options out there.

If you’ve ever tried to look for coconut cream in the stores, you’ll likely run into similar issues I had with heavy whipping cream…but compounded because full fat coconut cream is just impossible to find. So again – to be clear – full fat coconut cream is not the stuff you put in your coffee – there are “Coconut creamers” out there which, although they are delicious, contain a lot of added sugar. That is not what we are looking for. Then there’s coconut milk. If you look for coconut milk, you’ll find a ton of options for this – some in the refrigerated section, some in the baking section, and finally some in the “Asian foods” section.

How do you know which one to get? Cream or milk? Full fat or not? It is a lot to take in. But I will make sure you find the right one.

For the purposes of this recipe, what you want is a full fat coconut cream. I know, you’re like then why did you list it as full fat coconut milk, idiot? For these reasons:

Coconut cream on its own is super hard to find, and then once you do find it, you will realize that it is literally the same thing you could get from coconut milk…but more expensive. Say what? YES! Keep reading and you’ll understand.

Full fat coconut milk is basically coconut cream + water. I kid you not. That’s all it is. SO – if you buy full fat coconut milk, all you have to do is chill it for a bit, do NOT shake it up (because you want the cream to separate from the water) and then once it’s chilled, tip the can upside down, open it from the bottom and drain the water out (water is on the bottom because…science) and then scoop out the remaining cream and there you go!

Okay, so the above talks about WHY I use full fat coconut milk (to extract the coconut cream) but now where to find it in your grocery store – easy. Head to the “Asian foods” section! Ding, ding, ding!

The stuff you’ll find the in “Asian foods” section is the stuff you need. It’s in a can. And there’s even an organic version available which is what you’re looking for – less processed stuff. It may even say “unsweetened.” For this recipe, you only need one can. However, this stuff is amazing is so many ways, just stock up while you’re there.

What’s up with the other coconut milks? Anything else you find labeled as “Coconut milk” in the refrigerated section or in the baking aisle that is NOT in a can – is not going to work for this recipe.

It’s not going to be full fat, and since we’re trying to get ONLY the coconut fat, it’s just not going to work.

It contains a lot of other ingredients to keep it in a liquid state – again that won’t work for this recipe.

Likely contains a lot more sugar. No bueno.

To be clear…you’re looking for FULL FAT COCONUT MILK – and then out of that will come FULL FAT COCONUT CREAM. Got it? Okay! Moving on!

What the bejeezus is “Erythritol”? Sounds like something not natural and therefore not good for keto (glaring eyes on me)

Takes a deep breath. Breathes in. Breathes out.

Okay guys. Here’s the deal. I could do an entire post just on sugar and sugar substitutes and give you the good, the bad and the sort of good and the sort of bad. But that’s not this. So for the sake of time, I’m going to give you the quick information on what this as listed in my favorite keto cookbook, The Keto Diet: A Complete Guide to A High Fat Diet by Leanne Vogel (you can also follow her at HealthfulPursuit.com).

Leann’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Description from Leann’s book: This is a sugar alcohol that has no impact on your blood sugar (which means it’s not processed like a normal sugar carbohydrate). Unlike other sugar alcohols, erythritol is broken down in the small intestine; since it doesn’t reach the colon, it doesn’t cause the digestive problems that can occur with other sugar alcohols. This makes it a great option for those with digestive imbalances. A word of caution: If you have kidney problems, check with your healthcare provider before consuming erythritol. Also, if you are sensitive to corn, you may want to move on to another sweetener, as this one is derived from corn.

My own analysis of erythritol: I’ve tried a lot of sugar substitutes on keto because I have a sweet tooth and even in keto I have to deal with my constant yearning for all things sugar. So after experimenting with Stevia and Inulin (NOT insulin) and Erythritol, my recommendation is this one. It tastes the most like sugar – and it doesn’t have an aftertaste like other sugar substitutes. Also – I don’t experience any digestive side effects with this, but to each his/her own. If you’re not down with this, you can substitute a different sugar alcohol – whatever works best for you…but not actual sugar or honey or maple syrup…all things that get processed like sugar in your body are a no go.

So – what’s the deal with the carbs on this package? Eeek! You noticed that too? Okay, okay! According to multiple sources, the package has to list carbs, but they don’t count. I swear! It’s because of the fact that they don’t get absorbed into your system. So, unlike the heavy whipping cream where they may be hidden carbs, the opposite is true here – those carbs don’t count.

Whew! That’s a lot to process before you make a recipe I claim to be “stupid easy.” I realize this. But I wouldn’t have felt right about not explaining these things. And also I don’t have this info documented elsewhere so I can’t just link you off to my own explanations just yet. So, thank you for bearing with me. Now let’s jump into the actual MAKING of the recipe (this will be much quicker, I promise!)

Tips and tricks for making this recipe

I’ll go through the tips and tricks for each step. Some of it is up to you whether you go the extra mile or not. Either way, it’s going to be delicious.

Measure out your whipping cream into a mixing bowl.You can measure out ⅔ cup, or you can do like I do, measure with a scale. Scales are great for knowing EXACTLY how much you’re putting in. For this recipe, it’s fine to use measuring cups, but you’ll see I actually weighed mine out. Also – make sure the bowl itself is not included in the weight – put that on the scale first, then turn on the scale to zero it out to include the weight of the bowl.

Mix your whipping cream until it has standing peaks.With my hand mixer this is about 2-3 minutes on high speed

Measure out the Erythritol and almond extract and mix into the whipping cream until fully incorporated.Easy peezy lemon squeezy. You got this!

In a separate mixing bowl – put in the remains of the coconut milk – which is now just the cream that is left (you should have drained the watery substance already).Since I went over this in painstaking detail above, you should be all good here.

Mix the remaining coconut milk cream until most of the lumps are gone.Coconut milk cream needs to be whipped into shape before you mix it with the heavy whipping cream. I made the mistake of whipping the cream and then dumping this right into the whipping cream…it did not incorporate well and there were a lot of lumps. Think about mixing cream cheese with stuff. If you don’t whip it separately, it’s not going to turn out nearly as good.

Combine the two bowls – the whipping cream and the coconut milk cream and mix again until everything is incorporated and smooth.If you did step 5, this should go smoothly.

Enjoy!Seriously. Eat your heart out!

One last pro tip. After you’re done, weigh it one more time so that you know the total amount of grams. If you want, you can convert that into cups (use google to help with that) or you can just do like I do, which is serve up a big healthy bowl and call it a serving – just make sure you also weigh that so you know how to divide up the nutrients. For this recipe, I did 65g, but I could easily do 100g or more in one serving on a good day.

this recipe is all about liberties.

You can take this and modify it as you please! Some people don’t even need to add a sugar substitute – as the coconut milk cream gives it a delicious flavor on it’s own. I am not one of those people, though.

Another thing to note is that you could go even lower carb if you take out the coconut cream altogether. I’ve done this before – it’s just heavy whipping cream and then whatever else you want to include. What I’ve found, though, is that heavy whipping cream deflates after a day and gets soupier and soupier. When you mix it with the coconut cream, though, it stands firmer for a lot longer. Sometimes I’ll even go the other way and double the coconut cream to get a really thick concoction. So it’s up to you how you want to do this. The important thing is to TRACK EVERY GRAM so that you know how the nutritional value is changing when you make changes.

Ways to eat this

With a spoon, obviously! Okay, in all seriousness what I mean is you can eat this alone. It’s that good!

Because it has an almond taste to it, it’s probably better with muffins and granola, but if you omit the almond or use vanilla extract, it would also be yummy with a handful of berries…if you can spare enough carbs for the day.

Finally, you could also put it directly in coffee. I basically put most of these ingredients in my coffee anyway (heavy whipping cream, almond extract, and erythritol) so I know it’s guaranteed to be amazing.

Alright guys – this is the end of my first recipe. Leave comments on what you think…about the recipe, the format, the amount of detail. No critique too little! I want to find what works best for ya’ll. Thanks!

Side note: I really do have some non-keto posts coming, it’s just this is top of mind so I had to get it out there!